Process for the production and filling of bags or the like



July 25, 1967 THESING 3,332,198

PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION AND FILLING OF BAGS OR THE LIKE Filed April 21. 1964 Jr: yen far.-

I GEORG [HES/N5 United States Patent 3,332,198 PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION AND FILLING OF BAGS OR THE LIKE Georg Thesing, Dortmund-Schonau, Germany, as-

signor to Holstein & Kappert Maschinenfabrik Phonix G.m.b.H., Dortmund, Germany Filed Apr. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 361,440 8 Claims. (Cl. 53-28) The present invention relates to the production and filling of bags and similar containers, and more particularly to the production, filling and sealing of bags or block-shaped containers which consist of weldable material.

It is an important object of the invention to provide a continuous process for the production and filling of bags and similar containers so that a large number of such containers may be formed, filled, sealed and shaped in a mass-producing operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a process of the just outlined characteristics according to which each container receives an accurately measured quantity of filler material.

A further object of my invention is to provide a process for the production of filled containers which are configurated in such a way that a large number of such containers may be stacked and stored in a small area, and that the contents of each container are sealed from the surrounding atmosphere.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a process of the above outlined characteristics which may be resorted to in the production of differently dimensioned and/or configurated containers, and according to which each container is filled to capacity with a pasty, liquid or comminuted solid filler substance.

A concomitant object of the invention is to provide a process for filling a tubular wrapper with a flowing filler substance in such a way that the filler substance itself serves to spread the wrapper during filling, to

' provide a process for the production of filled bags or similar containers with substantial savings in wrapper material, and to provide a process according to which the wrapper is formed, filled and sealed in a sanitary manner so that the process may be resorted to for wrapping of foodstuffs and other types of perishable goods.

With the above objects in view, one feature of my invention resides in the provision of a process for the production and filling of bags which comprises welding one marginal portion of an elongated strip which consists at least in part of weldable synthetic plastic material to the other marginal portion thereof so that the strip forms an elongated tubular wrapper, introducing 'a flowing filler substance into the wrapper and welding the wrapper consecutively at longitudinally spaced points to form welded seams which extend across the wrapper 'whereby the portions between each pair of consecutive from one end of the wrapper while the wrapper preferably moves in an elongated path or, alternatively, the filler substance may be introduced in measured quantities subsequent to the formation of consecutive seams so that the bags contain identical quantities of such substance.

The process of my invention may be utilized for wrapping of non-compressible pulverulent, granular, liquid or pasty substances so that the deformation of a bag in response to pressure produced by the walls of a mold will merely change the shape but not the volumetric contents of the ultimate product.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, will be best understood from the following detailed description of an apparatus which may be utilized for carrying out the process of my invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a welding station at which a tubular wrapper is formed with transversely extending seams and of a severing station at which the bags are severed from the remainder of the wrapper;

FIG. 2 is a schematic exploded view of a first portion of a mold wherein the bags are deformed into substantially block-shaped containers;

FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded view of a second portion of the mold with a bag shown in a position turned through degrees with reference to the position of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a portion of a box-shaped container prior to folding of its flaps; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a container with the flaps folded and welded to the remainder of the wrapper.

Referring to the drawings, and first to FIG. 1, there is shown an elongated tubular wrapper 1 consisting at least in part of weldable synthetic plastic material, for example, a transparent plastic or a paper-like material provided with a plastic coat. This wrapper is formed by folding an elongated strip so that one marginal portion,

1a of the strip overlies the other marginal portion 1b thereof, and the two marginal portions are welded to each other while the folded strip advances in an elongated path indicated by an arrow 10. The seam 1d obtained upon welding of the marginal portions 1a, 1b to each other is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

The wrapper is then filled with a flowing filler substance (e.g., a powder, a paste or a liquid medium) which is introduced by gravity feed through the upper end thereof so that the wrapper forms a completely filled sausage which is thereupon transformed into substantially pillowshaped bags 4. The means for transforming the wrapper 1 into such bags comprises two electrodes 2, 2a which are reciprocable in directions at right angles to the arrow 10 and which form transverse seams 1e extending across the wrapper 1 as the latter advances between the electrodes. The wrapper may be moved continuously or intermittently and the electrodes 2, 2a may perform a composite movement so that they travel with and at the speed of the wrapper 1 at the time they form the seams 12. Such seams are rather wide so that each thereof may be severed by a pair of cooperating cutters 3, 3a which are adjacent to the path of the wrapper at a level below the electrodes 2, 2a and are reciprocated toward and away from consecutive seams 1e in synchronism with the forward movement of the wrapper so that their cutting edges sever the wrapper across the seams 1e and separate the bags 4 whereby the wrapper of each bag comprises four flaps 7, one at each of its four corners.

Such bags are then placed into a mold 5 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) whose walls are movable toward and away from each other whereby the rounded portions of the bags are deformed and the bags assume the form of block-shaped containers 6 with outwardly projeccting triangular flaps 7, see FIG. 4. The major portions of the seams 1d, 1e-

are pressed against the remainder of the wrapper, and the flaps 7 may be severed from the remainder of each container or, and as shown in FIG. 5, each flap 7 may be folded against the wrapper of the respective container and is welded or otherwise secured thereto so that the ultimate product resembles a prismatic body bounded by six fiat surfaces. Such containers may be stacked in cardboard boxes or the like to facilitate storage and transportation.

In accordance with a slightly different embodiment of my process, the filling device (e.g. a magazine, a hopper or the like) which delivers a filler substance by gravity feed may operate intermittently so that each bag 4 receives the same quantity of such substance. For example, and referring to FIG. 1, the magazine has just admitted a measured quantity of pulverulent or liquid material into a cupped portion of the wrapper 1 which is located above the uppermost seam 1c. The wrapper 1 then advances downwardly through a distance corresponding to the length of a bag 4 and the electrodes 2, 2a move toward each other to seal the freshly admitted batch of filler substance by forming a new transverse seam, whereupon the magazine admits the next measured quantity of filler substance. In this embodiment of my process, the formation of consecutive seams 1e alternates with introduction of consecutive batches of a filler substance, i.e., a first seam 1e is formed at one end of the wrapper 1 prior to admission of the first batch, and so on.

If the process of my invention is utilized for the production and sealing of pillow-shaped bags 4, the mold may be dispensed with and the last step is performed by the cutters 3, 3a which sever consecutive bags from the remainder of the wrapper 1.

An important advantage of my process is that the wrapper 1 need not be subjected to a spreading act-ion prior to introduction of the filler substance because this substance acts as a spreader and insures that the wrapper cannot form a fiat body. Thus, once the filling step is started, the walls of the wrapper will form a tube which is ready to receive a continuous stream or measured quantities of filler material. In addition to avoiding the need for special spreaders, the process of my invention may be carried out at the very point where the wrapper is formed so that the wrapper need not be stored on reels or the like.

Since each bag 4 is normally filled to capacity, the process of my invention may be carried out with substantial savings in wrapper material. Also, neither the wrapper nor the filler substance must be touched by hand so that the process can be carried out in a sanitary manner to meet all, even strictest, requirements for packing of foodstuffs and other types of perishable or easy-to-contaminate goods. The seam 1d on the container 6 need not be located midway between a pair of edges but may extend in immediate proximity of or may actually form one of such edges.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic and specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A process for the production, filling and sealing of block-shaped containers, comprising welding one marginal portion of an elongated strip of weldable plastic material to the other marginal portion thereof so that the strip forms a tubular wrapper; introducing a flowing filler substance into the wrapper; welding the wrapper consecutively at longitudinally spaced points to form welded seams which extend across the wrapper whereby the portions between each pair of consecutive seams form substantially pillow-shaped bags; separating the bags by severing the wrapper across the seams; deforming the thus separated bags in a mold so that each bag resembles a blockshaped container; and removing the thus obtained blockshaped containers from said mold.

2. A process for the production, filling and sealing of block-shaped containers, comprising folding an elongated strip of weldable synthetic plastic material so that one marginal portion of the strip overlies the other marginal portion thereof; welding said marginal portions to each other to form a longitudinally extending seam whereby the strip is transformed into an elongated tubular wrapper; introducing a flowing filler substance into the wrapper; welding the wrapper consecutively at longitudinally spaced points to form transverse seams which extend across the wrapper whereby the portions between each pair of consecutive transverse seams form substantially pillow-shaped four-cornered bags having flaps at the corners thereof; separating the bags by severing the wrapper across said transverse seams; deforming the thus separated bags in a mold so that each bag forms a block-shaped container; removing the thus obtained block-shaped containers from said mold; folding the flaps against the adjacent portions of the respective container; and welding the thus folded fiaps to the remainder of the respective container.

3. A process for the production, filling and sealing of block-shaped containers, comprising folding an elongated strip of weldable synthetic plastic material so that one marginal portion of the strip overlies the other marginal portion thereof; welding said marginal portions to each other to form a longitudinally extending seam whereby the strip is transformed into an elongated tubular wrapper; forming a first transverse welded seam across and at one end of said wrapper; continuously introducing a freely flowing filler substance into said wrapper from the other end thereof so that said substance fills the wrapper in a direction from said first transverse seam toward the other end thereof; welding the wrapper consecutively at points which are longitudinally spaced from said first transverse seam to form additional transverse seams extending across the wrapper whereby such additional seams separate predetermined batches of filler material from each other and the wrapper is transformed into a single file of substantially pillow-shaped four-cornered bags having flaps at the corners thereof; separating the bags by severing the wrapper across said transverse seams; deforming the thus separated bags in a mold so that each bag forms a blockshaped container; removing the thus obtained blockshaped containers from said mold; folding the flaps against the adjacent portions of the respective container; and welding the thus folded flaps to the remainder of the respective container.

4. A process for the production, filling and sealing of block-shaped containers, comprising welding one marginal portion of an elongated strip of weldable synthetic plastic material to the other marginal portion thereof so that the strip forms a tubular wrapper; forming a first transverse welded seam across the wrapper; introducing a measured quantity of a freely flowing filler substance into the wrapper adjacent to said first transverse seam; forming a second transverse welded seam across said wrapper to enclose said measured quantity of said filler substance between said transverse seams; severing the wrapper across said second transverse seam whereby the severed portion of the wrapper forms a substantially pillow-shaped four-cornered bag with a flap at each of its corners; deforming the bag in a mold so that the bag forms a blockshaped container; removing the thus obtained blocksbaped container from said mold; folding the flaps against the adjacent portions of the container; welding the thus folded flaps to the remainder of the container; and consecutively forming, severing and deforming additional bags.

5. A process for the production, filling and sealing of block-shaped containers, comprising welding one marginal portion of a plastic-coated paper strip to the other marginal portion thereof so that the strip forms an elongated tubular Wrapper; introducing a flowing filler substance into the wrapper; welding the wrapper consecutively at longitudinally spaced points to form welded seams which extend across the wrapper whereby the portions between each pair of consecutive seams form substantially pillowshaped bags; separating the bags by severing the wrapper across the seams; deforming the thus separated bags in a mold so that each bag resembles a block-shaped container; and removing the thus obtained block-shaped containers from said mold.

6. A process for the production, filling and sealing of block-shaped containers, comprising welding one marginal portion of an elongated strip which consists entirely of weldable synthetic plastic material to the other marginal portion thereof so that the strip forms a tubular wrapper; introducing a flowing filler substance into the wrapper; welding the wrapper consecutively at longitudinally spaced points to form welded seams which extend across the wrapper whereby the portions between each pair of consecutive seams form substantially pillow-shaped bags; separating the bags by severing the wrapper across the seams; deforming the thus separated bags in a mold so that each bag resembles a block-shaped container; and removing the thus obtained block-shaped containers from said mold.

7. A process for the production, filling and sealing of block-shaped containers, comprising folding an elongated strip of weldable synthetic plastic material so that one marginal portion of the strip overlies the other marginal portion thereof; welding said marginal portions to each other to form a longitudinally extending seam whereby the strip is transformed into an elongated tubular wrapper; introducing a flowing filler substance into the wrapper; welding the wrapper consecutively at longitudinally spaced points to form transverse seams which extend across the wrapper whereby the portions between each pair of consecutive transverse seams form substantially pillow-shaped four-cornered bags having flaps at the corners thereof;

separating the bags by severing the wrapper across said transverse seams; severing the flaps from the remainder of each bag; deforming the remainder of each bag in a mold so that each bag forms a block-shaped container; and removing the thus obtained block-shaped containers from said mold.

8. A process for the production and filling of bags, comprising welding one marginal portion of an elongated strip of weldable synthetic plastic material to the other marginal portion thereof so that the strip forms an elongated tubular wrapper; introducing a flowing filler substance into said Wrapper; welding the wrapper consecutively at longitudinally spaced points to form welded seams which extend across the wrapper whereby the portions between each pair of consecutive seams form substantially pillow-shaped bags; separating the bags by severing the wrapper across said seams; engaging each bag with the constitutent sections of a separable mold which together define a block-shaped cavity so as to thereby deform the bag into conformance with the outline of said cavity to obtain a block-shaped container; and removing said container from said cavity.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,313,234 8/1919 Jones '53-28 1,417,591 5/1922 Anderson 53-182 X 2,214,944 9/1940 Vogt 53-28 X 2,307,890 1/1943 Lakso 53-28 X 2,602,276 7/1952 Campbell 53-182 2,605,597 8/1952 Scheib 53-182 2,869,298 1/1959 Zwayer 53-51 3,221,469 12/1965 Murray 53-28 3,228,170 1/1966 Eisenstadt 53-182 GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner. 

1. A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION, FILLING AND SEALING OF BLOCK-SHAPED CONTAINERS, COMPRISING WELDING ONE MARGINAL PORTION OF AN ELONGATED STRIP OF WELDABLE PLASTIC MATERIAL TO THE OTHER MARGINAL PORTION THEREOF SO THAT THE STRIP FORMS A TUBULAR WRAPPER; INTRODUCING A FLOWING FILLER SUBSTANCE INTO THE WRAPPER; WELDING THE WRAPPER CONSECUTIVELY AT LONGITUDINALLY SPACED POINTS TO FORM WELDED SEAMS WHICH EXTEND ACROSS THE WRAPPER WHEREBY THE PORTIONS BETWEEN EACH PAIR OF CONSECUTIVE SEAMS FORM SUBSTANTIALLY PILLOW-SHAPED BAGS; SEPARATING THE BAGS BY SEVERING THE WRAPPER ACROSS THE SEAMS; DEFORMING THE THUS SEPARATED BAGS IN A MOLD SO THAT EACH BAG RESEMBLES A BLOCKSHAPED CONTAINER; AND ROMOVING THE THUS OBTAINED BLOCKSHAPED CONTAINERS FROM SAID MOLD. 